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Cellarscape is the alt-acoustic moniker of musician/songwriter Paul Terry (often referred to as simply ‘PT’ in liner notes) from London that he has been writing, performing and recording under since 2003. On record, PT handles virtually all of the instruments, including the vocals, guitars, drums and self-made samples. Since 2003, Cellarscape has released two 5-track EPs, with a 15-track full-length album due out June 1, 2009.

Cellarscape’s sound tends to vary between: fragile, acoustic-led songs; swirly, break-beat and orchestration-based pieces; and biting guitar riffs with layered and attacking drum sections, with multi-layered harmonies prevalent throughout. BBC Radio’s Steve McCormick summarising the contradiction as “Crushing. Absorbing. Gentle. Uplifting. Relentless. Awesome.”

Aside from his Cellarscape duties, PT has been scoring the shorts and feature work of British writer/director Paul Williams since 1999, including 2006 feature film The Wake, and plans to unveil the first recordings of his heavy project Ash Tree Lane later in 2009.

Pre-Cellarscape – Isla’s Milk & early film soundtrack work: 1998 – 2002
After gigging extensively as a solo acoustic artist throughout 1998-1999, at the tail end of ‘99, PT was working on two records: the score to his first film – the 30-minute thriller Sold (written and directed by Paul Williams, whom he formed film production company Evil Hypnotist Productions with that year) – and a solo project under the moniker of Isla’s Milk. Taking vocals, drums & guitar duties, regular collaborator Niki Jones played bass for the 7 tracks that made up the Isla’s Milk mini-album Melt.

In early 2000, Music from the film ‘Sold’ was released on the just-christened SkyBabyRecords label, with Melt following shortly after. Both were limited edition releases, with the former used to promote Sold around film festivals.

The previously unreleased original version of Isla’s Milk song ‘Just One Thing’ was also given to compilation album Original Aspect Ratio (Elastic Fiction) – a collection of independent bands and solo artists from the South of England.

With PT’s film soundtrack duties becoming the primary concern from 2001-2002 (including his work for Williams’ award-winning short Mightier, and preparations for feature campaign Paradox), a follow-up to solo project Isla’s Milk was put on the back burner.

Development: 2003-2005
In 2003, PT started playing gigs under the moniker of Cellarscape for the first time. London venues included The Fiddler’s Elbow, Storm, The Bull & Gate, G-Lounge and a headline set at the 12 Bar.

‘Copilot’ EP era: 2006
2006 saw the release of the first Cellarscape recorded material, in the form of the 5-track EP entitled Copilot. This collection included ‘Static’, which had become a permanent part of set lists, and the brooding ‘Repeat, Erase, Unite’, with one review describing the debut EP as a collection of "songs of desolation that echo with mood and meaning."

The artwork for the EP was created by comics auteur Martin Eden, the writer/artist/creator of The O Men.

‘Fifth Phoenix’ EP era: 2007
The following year, 5 brand new songs emerged in the form of EP Fifth Phoenix. This saw the experimental acoustic foundations of the Cellarscape sound expand to feature more samples, and in the case of two of the songs, ‘A Brief Time of Bullets’ and ‘Lack of Evidence’, drum arrangements. Online music-zine Control Yourself enthused about the EP, saying “Everything in this five-track EP breathes an intimacy that is all too rare in new music… this has the undeniably cinematic sweep of great movie music.”

‘Animation, Suspension’ era: 2008 – present
The writing, recording and development of the debut full-length album ‘Animation, Suspension’ took place over 2008. The latest record is comprised of 15 brand new songs (none repeated from the EPs), and features guest players Niki Jones on bass once more, James Bellamy on piano and orchestral arrangements (who has also mixed every Cellarscape record to date) and Paul Miro (singer/songwriter of Apes, Pigs & Spacemen) providing additional backing vocals.

The first single to be released was ‘You Got The Girl’, an unconventional 5-minute-plus track that marked somewhat of a step-up in Cellarscape’s style, taking in a complex and attacking drum section among a series of big riffs, several harmonies and an overall angular style. The music video for ‘You Got The Girl’ was directed by Paul Williams and starred Brit actors Daniel Carter-Hope (The Wake, Punk Science, Sitcom Trials) and Victoria Broom (Bad Day, Othello, Celestial Sisters).

Influences
Although Cellarscape’s sound cannot be classified as ‘metal’, PT is hugely influenced by a lot of heavy musical artists, especially Devin Townsend’s body of work (including Strapping Young Lad), Machine Head, and Mike Patton’s eclectic projects. He also cites (on the lighter end of the scale) Tori Amos, Chris Cornell and Imogen Heap as influences. PT also lists several other creative people – outside of music – as influences on the Cellarscape sound, including writers Chuck Palahniuk, Mark Z. Danielewski, comics auteur Ben Templesmith, and filmmakers David Lynch, Kim Ji-woon, and Darren Aronofsky.

Albums

 * Animation, Suspension (2009)

Singles & EPs

 * You Got The Girl (2009)
 * Transition Sickness (2007)
 * A Brief Time Of Bullets (2007)
 * Fifth Phoenix EP (2007)
 * Static (2007)
 * Repeat, Erase, Unite (2007)
 * Copilot EP (2006)